1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a novel flavor additive having a toasted corn flavor, a method for making the additive, and novel food products incorporating the additive. The novel flavor additive can be used to enhance or impart a toasted corn flavor to various food products such as corn tortilla chips made from dry masa flour.
2. Description of Related Art
Corn and its derivative products were principle food sources for the pre-Columbian civilizations of the New World. Even today, corn is a staple source of food in Mexico and in parts of Central America, and there is global demand for corn products such as corn chips, tortilla chips, tacos, tostadas and enchiladas. Many of these corn products are derived from masa dough (“masa”).
Corn products can be made from either wet masa, often called fresh masa, or dry masa flour (dry masa). In general, dry masa produces less desirable, lower quality products than wet masa. For example, dough derived from dry masa or low moisture-content masa tends to be less plastic and cohesive than wet masa or high-moisture-content masa. The more desirable wet masa, however, deteriorates quickly due to its high moisture content. Consequently, dry masa is often used to make corn products because of its longer shelf-life and transportability. Manufacturers can simply rehydrate dry masa to create masa dough rather than nixtamilize and grind fresh corn. Furthermore, dry masa may be more suitable in cooking applications where it is more desirable for the masa dough to be buoyant in cooking oil, as dough made from dry masa tends to be less dense than dough made from wet masa.
To understand the differences between wet and dry masa, it is helpful to understand how masa is formed.
The traditional method for processing fresh corn to form masa dough is called nixtamilization and dates back to the pre-Columbian era of the Aztec and Maya people in Mesoamerica. In the traditional nixtamilization process, fresh whole-kernel corn is first soaked in a solution of water and lime (calcium hydroxide) and then partially cooked at or near the boiling point for a short time depending on the hardness of the corn. The corn is then steeped in the lime-water solution and is allowed to cool for about 8-12 hours in order to loosen and degrade the pericarp (or bran) which is the outer, fibrous layer of a corn kernel. Cooking and steeping in alkaline solution causes partial dissolution of the cuticle and other pericarp layers as well as swelling and weakening of cell walls and fiber components. The corn kernels are then drained of the cooking liquor (called “nejayote), which contains loosened pericarp and other dissolved or suspended particles, and the corn kernels are washed to remove excess lime and loose particles. Typically, up to 15% by weight of the total corn fraction is lost during the cooking and washing steps. The corn kernels are then stone-ground to disrupt the starch-containing cell structures. The ground, wet mixture can be mixed with water to form fresh masa dough, or it can be dehydrated and ground to form dry masa flour. Dry masa flour can be rehydrated at a later time to form masa dough. See Hoseney, R. C., Principles of Cereal Science and Technology, 2nd ed., American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc., St. Paul, Minn., USA, pp. 349-351 (1994).
The dehydration of wet masa to form dry masa flour followed by rehydration to reform masa dough causes further degradation and deterioration of the cell walls, proteins and natural gums that give masa dough its plasticity and texture. This degradation also causes some of the corn and lime flavor to be lost. Thus, while dry masa has a longer shelf-life, is more easily transported than wet masa, and is used to make finished product more quickly, products derived from dry masa tend to have a less desirable, lighter corn flavor, and their texture is often not as desirable. Furthermore, when dry masa is used to make corn tortilla chips, the chips tend to lack the toast points (one source of dark speckles) that naturally form on the surface of similar chips derived from wet masa. This is because dough derived from dry masa flour generally has less moisture than dough derived from fresh masa, which in turn means that dry-masa chips undergo less baking or toasting than fresh masa chips during the cooking process. Research has shown that many consumers prefer corn chips having randomly dispersed toast points to corn chips having a more consistent, monotone color. Many consumers also prefer corn chips having a toasted corn flavor rather than chips having a light corn flavor.
Furthermore, there are certain manufacturing circumstances where masa dough preforms must be fried without first toasting the preforms, regardless of whether they are derived from wet or dry masa. Consider, for example, an instance where it is desirable to fry preforms into a particular shape. In such circumstances, those preforms cannot be toasted before frying because toasting would render the preforms too stiff to conform to fryer molds. The resulting products therefore lack the toasted corn flavor and appearance that is often desired in corn products.
Corn flavor additives have been used to help improve the flavor of corn products made from masa flour. However, prior art corn flavor additives are typically mere by-products of processes for making cornstarch. Because the germ portions of corn are often discarded in the cornstarch process, prior art corn flavor additives and methods for preparing such additives simply use the germ components that otherwise would have been discarded. One such prior art corn flavor additive is InnovaSure Masa-thentic #18 by Cargill Foods, which consists of lime-processed corn germ. Furthermore, prior art corn flavor additives impart only a more concentrated corn germ flavor and do not give products a more toasted flavor. While prior art corn germ additives help enhance the flavor of foods, they fail to impart a toasted flavor or give products the appearance of having toast points.
Consequently, a need exists for an additive for enhancing the toasted corn flavor and visual characteristics of corn products made from masa dough. Such an additive should enhance the toasted corn flavor in corn products such as corn tortilla chips made from masa flour, and it should give products the appearance of having natural toast points. This additive should impart a toasted corn flavor and appearance for products made without the benefit of a toasting stage. Such an additive should also be easily manufactured and readily incorporated into existing processes for making corn products from masa dough.